Durant drives win with 54 points

AP, OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma

Sun, Jan 19, 2014 - Page 20

Kevin Durant scored a career-high 54 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 127-121 on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

Durant made 19 of 28 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws in his third straight game with at least 36 points.

Serge Ibaka had 21 points and eight rebounds, Reggie Jackson scored 14 points and Kendrick Perkins added 12 rebounds for the Thunder (30-10), who won for the third time in four games. Oklahoma City shot 58 percent from the field and scored a season-high point total.

Stephen Curry had 37 points and 11 assists and Klay Thompson added 26 points for the Warriors (25-16), who shot 52 percent but simply couldn’t match up with Durant.

HEAT 101, 76ERS 86

In Philadelphia, LeBron James had 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and the Heat snapped a three-game losing streak.

Chris Bosh scored 25 points, Norris Cole and Shane Battier had 13 points each, and the Heat avoided their first four-game losing streak since March 2011. The Heat dropped games at New York, Brooklyn and Washington, but had no trouble against the Sixers in this one.

The two-time defending NBA champion Heat led by 25 and atoned for a 114-110 loss to Philadelphia in October.

Tony Wroten led the Sixers with 13 points. Spencer Hawes had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Miami star Dwyane Wade, who missed the first game against the Sixers, scored eight points on his 32nd birthday.

TRAIL BLAZERS 109, SPURS 100

In San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, and Wesley Matthews scored 24 points.

Manu Ginobili had a season-high 29 points, and Boris Diaw and Marco Belinelli added 14 points each for the Spurs. Tim Duncan had 13 points and Tony Parker added 12, but the two combined for just eight points in the second half of a physical and testy matchup between teams vying for the best record in the Western Conference.

LAKERS 107, CELTICS 104

In Boston, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo returned from a knee injury and missed a three-pointer that could have sent the game into overtime, sending the Lakers to the win.

Kelly added a pair of clinching free throws with 9.4 seconds remaining as the Lakers snapped a six-game losing streak.

Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 25 points for Boston. Rondo, who was limited to 20 minutes in his first game since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament on Jan. 25, 2013, had eight points, four assists and two rebounds.

CLIPPERS 109, KNICKS 95

In New York, Blake Griffin scored 32 points, Jamal Crawford added 29 and the Clippers opened a seven-game road trip with their fifth straight victory.